Histories of the past and histories of the future: Pandemics and historians of education

in Paedagogica Historica (2022)

The COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of the 2020s not only marked a dramatic moment in world health, but also the start of manifold and entangled global crises that seem to define a watershed moment ... [more ▼]

The COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of the 2020s not only marked a dramatic moment in world health, but also the start of manifold and entangled global crises that seem to define a watershed moment with severe effects on education. Pandemics we know are recurrent events. Faced with COVID-19 some historians have looked to previous pandemics to understand the nature of the disease and its trajectory, and how previous generations have dealt with similar health crises. This special issue intends not to reinforce narratives of the past but rather to question them. The histories that have been written for this special issue Histories of the Past and Histories of the Future: Pandemics and Historians of Education offer insights that refer to past and future research agendas. They look at the mediation and circulation of knowledge during past pandemics, trace unheard voices and emotions of pandemics, analyse national policies and emerging discourses, and underline the entangled histories of education and pandemics. Collectively the articles brought together in this issue forcibly suggest that the most fruitful and rewarding way forward to studying past pandemics lies in thinking ecologically. By asses- sing the myriad consequences of living in ” pandemic times,” of confronting exposure, transmission, transmutation, disruption, and loss, and looking to community and collective futures we believe we cannot study pandemics and their impact on education and children's lives without widening the aperture of our research. Adopting an ecological approach will help us to not only actively engage with histories of the present and contemporary collecting, but also offer the possibility of new understandings and new insights into the dynamics and consequences of past pandemics. [less ▲]

International Standing Conference for the History of Edcuation

in Hernandez, José Luis; Cagnolati, Antonella; Payà, Andrés (Eds.) CONNECTING HISTORY OF EDUCATION. Redes globales de comunicación y colaboración científicas (2022)

Emerging ecologies and changing relations: a brief manifesto for histories of education after COVID-19

in Paedagogica Historica (2022)

he paper draws upon photography as an active intervention into compromised environments and uses it to discover and develop new perspectives on past and future histories of education after COVID-19. These ... [more ▼]

he paper draws upon photography as an active intervention into compromised environments and uses it to discover and develop new perspectives on past and future histories of education after COVID-19. These perspectives become particularly clear when seen against the backdrop of recent discussions on planetary responsibility and shared ecologies. The paper suggests that we shift our research agendas away from anthropocentric world views that have placed great emphasis on human sovereignty, modernisation, progress and/or decline, nation states and global governance, and the stratifying effects of education systems, without reflecting their ecological consequences. It argues that anthropocentric approaches to history of education have neglected the openness and vulnerability of the human body and its ethical, cultural and social proximity to other living creatures and the material world. The paper therefore focuses on what it means for historians of education to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, what it means to change research perspectives, and what it means to look at photographs that were produced in a state of exception. The paper sets out to propose a manifesto for a post-anthropocentric research agenda that anchors history of education and the history of pandemics in intertwined ecologies of the living and material worlds. The paper suggests that future histories of education cannot be written without considering the COVID-19 crisis as both a challenge and an encouragement to further develop our understanding of education. [less ▲]

Media Matter: Images as Presenters, Mediators, and Means of Observation

Book published by De Gruyter (2021)

Humanitarian Photography Beyond the Picture: David “CHIM” Seymour’s Children of Europe

in Allender, Tim; Dussel, Inés; Grosvenor, Ian (Eds.) et al Appearances Matter: The Visual in Educational History (2021)

This book chapter concentrates on photography as a technology that goes beyond the image. The chapter looks at documentary photography as an institutional and material practice of humanitarian ... [more ▼]

This book chapter concentrates on photography as a technology that goes beyond the image. The chapter looks at documentary photography as an institutional and material practice of humanitarian ‘propaganda’ and discusses how notions of childhood intensified the urgency of humanitarian campaigns. It analyzes how UNESCO carefully selected and edited David Seymour’s photographs of children of war-devasted Europe, and how the organization adapted and exploited his photographs for its own ends. Besides tracing these practices of meaning making, the chapter also looks at the itinerary of one of Seymour’s most fascinating photographs and the different stories that have evolved around it to the present day. In a nutshell, the essay suggests that photographs, by both providing information and stimulating imagination, become actors of meaning making and storytelling. Photographs did not only help UNESCO manage public consent and add urgency to humanitarian causes; they also triggered public debate on social media, cooperated in historical research, and inspired literary work. [less ▲]

Kulturgeschichte, Mentalitätsgeschichte, Psychohistorie, Historische Anthropologie

in Kluchert, Gerhard; Horn, Klaus-Peter; Groppe, Carola (Eds.) et al Historische Bildungsforschung. Konzepte, Methoden, Forschungsfelder (2021)

Media Technologies for a Better World: UNESCO’s Ethical Framework for Communication Infrastructures and Uses of Media after the Second World War

in Atanasiu, Vlad; Chachereau, Nicolas; Enrico, Natale (Eds.) et al Framing Communication Infrastructures (1950-2020): Discours et imaginaires – Diskurse und Vorstellungen (2021)

The paper looks at a global, non-commercial organization that not only steered worldwide innovation in communication infrastructure but also made efforts to define ethical standards for media use and mass ... [more ▼]

The paper looks at a global, non-commercial organization that not only steered worldwide innovation in communication infrastructure but also made efforts to define ethical standards for media use and mass communication. Established after the Second World War, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ran campaigns in the late 1940s to remove information barriers and foster the free flow of information throughout the world. Against a backdrop of emerging conflicts between East and West, North and South, UNESCO promoted the free and global spread of ideas “by word and image,” by developing its press, broadcasting and film services, advocating for the improvement of technological infrastructures (e.g. the worldwide allocation of high frequencies), helping to remove economic obstacles to global trade in news and other media (e.g. by advocating for tariff reductions on educational, scientific and cultural materials), and renegotiating telephone regulations. While critics accused UNESCO of using its media policies to promote Western values and ideas during the Cold War, UNESCO saw its role in the context of the fight for human rights, especially the right to freedom of information and the right to education. UNESCO thus mobilized mass communication policies in the service of what the organization defined as an egalitarian vision that was intended to become a major wellspring of innovation. [less ▲]

Making History Together: Public Participation in Museums

Scientific Conference (2020, December 15)

The international online symposium brought together scholars, museum professionals and heritage practitioners to discuss how participatory history is constructed, developed, and implemented in museums ... [more ▼]

The international online symposium brought together scholars, museum professionals and heritage practitioners to discuss how participatory history is constructed, developed, and implemented in museums. 'Making History Together: Public Participation in Museums' took place on 15 December 2020 and has brought together participants and case studies from all over the world. Sessions include discussions on co-creation and co-production, community of interpretation, digital public participatory practices, empowerment, and overall impact on making history in museums. [less ▲]

L'album de David Seymour sur la lutte contre l'analphabétisme en Calabre en tant qu'outil de médiatisation : traces matérielles de la rédaction et de la narration

in Hendel, Giovanna; Naggar, Carole; Priem, Karin (Eds.) They Did not Stop at Eboli: The UNESCO Campaign Against Illiteracy in Reportages by David Seymour and Carlo Levi (1950) (2019)

David Seymour’s Album on the Fight Against Illiteracy in Calabria as a Tool of Mediatization: Material Traces of Editing and Visual Storytelling

in Hendel, Giovanna; Naggar, Carole; Priem, Karin (Eds.) They Did not Stop at Eboli: The UNESCO Campaign Against Illiteracy in Reportages by David Seymour and Carlo Levi (1950) (2019)